The Power of Wind
by Check
Summary: Power RangersSoul Calibur crossover fic. (1st work). When shards of an ancient weapon draw the attention of vile forces, four teens must team up with a young priestess to neutralize the coming evil. Set shortly after Countdown to Destruction. Review plz.
1. Rising Gale

The Power of Wind: Chapter One

By: Vilepawn Archfiend

Disclaimer: Necrid is the property of Todd McFarlane Productions. Talim/Soul Edge/Soul Calibur are the property of Namco. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers Zeo, Power Rangers Turbo, and Power Rangers in Space are the property of Saban Entertainment and now Disney (?). No profit was made in the production of this fanfiction work.

The Power of Wind: Rising Gale

            "Don't allow it to escape."

General Necrid regarded his superior, Empress Pluto. The greedy gleam in her eye was only matched by the disturbingly bloodthirsty tone beneath the statement. The fiendish queen narrowed her eyes and smiled like a cat. "Soon, General, we will close in on the prize."

"As expected, my queen," Necrid growled obediently.

"Well, of course it was expected," Pluto hissed gaily, unable and uncaring to conceal her rising glee. "You have your mission; go now and carry it out. Don't forget anything I have told you."

A piece of his mind screamed at him that he had forgotten something, that there was something that needed to be done, but what?

_This is not your calling!_

The clanging of Necrid's footsteps as he left the room came close to drowning out the voice, but somehow, the whisper made itself known above the din. No choice but to ignore it, to bury it down, to cover it under going through the motions of his mission. It was a routine mission, only this time there had been a visual of the creature. A troop of Tengu warriors would be satisfactory for this mission—

_This is wrong. You KNOW this is wrong!_

The return of the voice was shocking enough to make the chief officer nearly drop his war-mask. Grimly doubling his focus, Necrid continued with the count of bird-men for the search-and-capture mission. Placing his war-mask over his face, Necrid relaxed as the electronic pulses enhanced his muscle mass and turned his skin a livid, fiery orange. Strapping on his horned titanium and bone buckler, the massive commander spun around to order the Tengu regiment—

_You made a promise! Doesn't that mean anything?_

"Leave me!" Necrid demanded, swinging his fists wildly at empty space. "Tarry no longer within the corridors of my mind! _Speak to me NO MORE!_ Or if you will, then at least have the courage to fight me where I can fight back!"

His feral swipes at nonentity ceased suddenly when he noticed a single Skull warrior regarding him curiously. Obviously, the foot soldier had been coming down toward the opening hatch and had caught the general in a less than sane moment. In a single fluid movement, Necrid grabbed the infantryman's neck with his gigantic right claw and slammed him against the wall. Quicker than thought, an immense axe constructed completely out of black energy and silver-gold lightning manifested in the general's left hand. The Skull warrior flailed uselessly; its feet were about half a meter from the ground and much too far away from Necrid's hulking body to do any damage. The general's eyes burned with teal wrath as they stared down the quaking Skull warrior.

"Listen to me, Skull warrior," Necrid seethed in a voice of frantic rage. "You did not _see_ anything, and you did not _hear_ anything. Therefore, it is not necessary for you to _say_ anything, for there is NOTHING to TELL! Do you understand, or might my Lambent Viper illuminate my commands a bit more clearly?"

"I understand, General Necrid," the Skull warrior stammered.

"Good," the fiery colossus boomed, willing away the energy weapon and stalking away, leaving the warrior to catch his breath by himself. Tapping a few buttons on the keypad with an outstretched claw, Necrid walked forward.

Straight into the door.

The confused general shook his head a few times; it was clear the security system was malfunctioning. But the beeping signals were not that of a security error, but rather those alerting one to an incorrect pass-code.

Growling furiously, Necrid stabbed in the correct pass-code with his index finger, and when the light came on he nearly smashed through the doors. He would have to face up to the fact that it was becoming worse. The lapses in concentration, the voices in his head, and now this. Every time he came back on a failed mission, his focus would continue to crumble.

"Not today," Necrid rumbled with resolve to himself. This mission couldn't fail. There was no feasible way that the Rangers would thwart his plans.

………

"You guys go on ahead."

Andros gazed at his second-in-command inquisitively. "You're sure, T.J.? You don't want any of us to go with you?"

"I'll be fine," T.J. replied, grinning at Andros' concern. "It's just a visit to see an old friend of mine. I'll be back before you guys know it. But I'm gonna have to do this alone."

As the others left T.J. to return to his quarters, the Blue Space Ranger sighed. It had been a nice run while he had done it, being first the main commander of the fighting force known as the Power Rangers, and then stepping down in the face of Andros' knowledge of space to become the Blue Space Ranger. But those times when he'd been the leader, literally in the "driver's seat" had been nice…

He hadn't even noticed that his key was in his hand. Now near-powerless, the key served only as a memento and a warning.

However, it was not always this way.

Once, it was the activator of the most powerful Turbo powers, those of the Lightning Fire-Tamer. Once, it could be used to call upon the mighty Turbo and Rescue Megazords.

And, at one time, the Red Lightning Turbo Zord.

T.J. remembered. He remembered the time that the powers had been granted to him and three of his friends. He remembered how immense the Turbo powers had felt. Like a raging inferno, he could do anything. Training for basketball, baseball had become near nothing as his powers increased toward infinity. Like a titan he had stood, the Lightning Fire-Tamer Turbo Ranger.

Then, it was replaced by the smooth finesse of the Space powers. Fluidly accomplishing everything he needed, they had exceeded the Turbo powers astonishingly, even though they were much more subtle. The awe the powers inspired was immense now, as opposed to just the magnitude of the powers. Simple, yet stunning. Refined, yet radiant. Flair and fortitude mixed together to form a resplendent whole, the paradox of the Space powers.

Maybe it was better that he'd been demoted. After all, it'd been his judgment calls that had cost them the Megazords, and ultimately, the Command Center. If he'd come up with the idea of destroying Goldgoyle from the inside earlier, that would have saved them at least the Turbo Megazord. The Rescue Zords, by that time, were scrap anyway, but could have been repaired with time, and the full scale assault would have been literally crushed beneath Desert Thunder and Dune Star.

On the other hand, the most destructive group of villains they had ever faced, the Psycho Rangers, had been trampled by his insight. Having realized that the Psychos couldn't be beaten with brawn alone, as they constantly probed their minds while fighting to counter moves that hadn't even been dished out yet, T.J. had been the first ranger to discover and exploit the Psycho Rangers' weakness of being highly gullible, which proved to be the only edge the Power Rangers ended up having against the Psychos.

_Don't count yourself out yet, T.J._

A familiar, six-note beeping brought T.J. back to reality. Glancing around furtively, something he'd never have imagined he would need to do inside the Mega-Ship, he pressed a small button on his wristwatch-like mechanism. "This is T.J."

"Hey, are you ready?"

"Yeah, I just needed to take care of a few things," T.J. replied. "I'll be right over."

"OK. Make sure you're alone. Tommy out."

T.J. folded his key and hung it back on its chain, then placed the chain over his head. Slipping on his cobalt beret, T.J. shouldered his duffel bag and headed for the jump-tubes. He wasn't sure, but he hoped the bubble of oxygen that materialized around every piece of Ranger equipment that went into space would get bigger for the extra baggage.****

A pair of dark brown eyes watched him mysteriously from a distance. "Alone indeed, I don't think so."

………

"Wind, guide me."

The plaintive sigh was barely audible, as the figure climbed up the mountain. Cloaked in black silk with white trim, no one would be able to recognize her in this storm. The flashes of lightning would only illuminate her for a second, and a second was all she needed to get away. But first, she had to find something. Something left behind. That something would be the key to her mission.

_It wasn't always this way_, she mused. If it hadn't been for the takeover of her homeland and the time-warp that switched her with a wealthy businessman from Japan, she wouldn't be in this position. She'd be doing what she was called to do, to be the Priestess of Wind. Fulfilling her destiny, as it were.

But maybe this was fulfilling it anyway. Who was to say that this wasn't fulfilling her destiny? Perhaps she had been called to cut herself on the shard of metal that the westerner had said was a vitality charm, and be taken to this place. She remembered a quote from a piece of paper that she'd seen, that nature "does nothing in vain…there are no grotesques in nature; not anything framed to fill up empty Cantons, and unnecessary spaces." So perhaps she was in her rightful place after all. But that wasn't her worry right now.

If only it wasn't so cold out here…The young woman pressed on, tightening her cloak around her shoulders and pulling her hood in close. _Don't feel it, don't let it affect you,_ she told herself decisively, climbing over another rock. The jagged edges had sliced fine rents in her hands and arms as she climbed closer to the remains of the Chamber. It was funny how everything her village had tried to protect her from was converging on her in this timeless moment. Harsh weather, possible sickness, corruption, just about everything in the outside world threatened to overwhelm her. Being a sibyl meant nothing now if she couldn't complete her mission—

Danger!

Turning her head, the young woman squinted…for a moment, she couldn't make out the person, and she had never met them before, but they knew her, that much she could tell from their surface thoughts. Something was blocking her from finding out anything more, however.

"I should know that sneaking up on you is useless," a voice said, sounding amused at the girl's inability to discern the identity. "I suppose, then, that I should count myself as lucky as getting this close to you."

"Show yourself," the young woman replied evenly, willing herself not to panic.

"Oh, if I did, not only would it be no fun, but it wouldn't matter, and you'll see why in a moment," the reply came.

_An untrue form,_ the young woman deduced. "Well, if you don't reveal yourself to me, I will come over and find out who you truly are."

"Who knows who anyone is?" the voice returned, caustically. "For all either of us knows, the other might not be here. The other might not even exist. By that logic, everything might just be an illusion. Why bother?"

"Simple," the young woman replied. "Because I can. Furthermore, not everything is an illusion. I know who I am."

"Oh really?" the voice asked skeptically.

"Yes." The woman stood, and, spreading her arms, broke the skies with a strong north wind, revealing the moon and allowing light to flood the site of the destroyed Power Chamber.

"I am Talim Viento, last High Priestess of the Wind."


	2. Alliances

The Power of Wind: Chapter Two

By: Vilepawn Archfiend

Disclaimer: Necrid is the property of Todd McFarlane Productions. Talim/Soul Edge/Soul Calibur are the property of Namco. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers Zeo, Power Rangers Turbo, and Power Rangers in Space are the property of Saban Entertainment and now BVS Entertainment. Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game and affiliates are copyright Kazuki Takahashi and property of Konami Corporation. No profit was made in the production of this fanfiction work.

The Power of Wind: Alliances

Shifting his pack slightly, T.J. lightly pushed the door of the building open. The lab was mostly quiet, with some typing and bubbling sounds coming from the back of the room. Entering quietly and cautiously, the former Blue Space Ranger called out. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

"T.J., is that you?" T.J. heard a familiar voice call.

"It's the one and only." T.J. walked toward and gave a high-five to his good friend and predecessor, Tommy Oliver.

"You're just in time," Tommy replied. Now in college, the former leader of the Power Rangers had decided to abandon his previous dream of becoming a racecar driver and settle into possibly getting a doctorate in paleontology. He retained his trademark ponytail, which was now tied back with a red kelly binder.

"So, Tommy, what's up?" T.J. asked.

"Well, T.J., you know I'm doing some studies on dinosaurs and other ancient creatures," Tommy began, "and we recently found out something quite interesting. It turns out that the Thunderzords, once thought to be entirely destroyed, were not quite vanquished in our last battle with Rito Revolto. They were equipped with a failsafe that not even Zordon knew about to teleport them directly to the Morphin grid and restore them to their original forms."

"Okay, but how are we supposed to get them back?" T.J. asked. "If the threat is as big as you implied, we'll need more than zords in reserve. We'll need zords here."

"Well, as my associate has discovered, apparently, they come back," Tommy continued. "The zords have been returned to their original resting places, but we need to supercharge them to be fight capable. I've decided that the best idea would be to charge one at a time, starting with the Tyrannosaurus, as sort of a test run. However, we don't have enough power among us, and there are only a few sources of power available to us. One is the reserve on KO-35. This is unusable since we are trying to keep this mission under wraps, and in addition to this, some of our intelligence has informed us that there are possible spies in the government. Another is the Alien Ranger force on Aquitar, but they are busy rebuilding after the galaxy-wide invasion headed by Astronema."

"What's the other option?" T.J. asked.

Tommy twisted both forearms swiftly, summoning two strapped on devices to his wrists. Two small stars, made out of red electricity, streaked across the backs of his hands before fading out. Waving his palms over the two mechanisms, Tommy willed them away.

"The Zeo crystal was not destroyed with the advent of Divatox and her forces," Tommy replied. "Throughout our run as Turbo Rangers, and yours as well, the individual crystals were kept in storage beneath the Power Chamber. They have untold power, especially when a person or entity directly links to the crystal, instead of wielding it like a talisman or enchanted amulet. This would be enough to defeat the threat, and the zord project is second to this."

"I don't understand," T.J. said. "What threat are you talking about?"

Tommy continued. "The antithesis to the Zeo Crystal. Instead of being able to absorb evil energy, it distributes it, poisoning the bearer's soul if they are not already aware of the threat and do not possess it for the sake of having it. A dark warrior from another time named Necrid came here in search of this artifact, but one who uses this power for their gain becomes a puppet, an empty shell serving chiefly as a host for the dark weapon. It will overwhelm us if we do not stop him from getting the sword."

"And that sword is?" T.J. asked.

Tommy's face turned grim. "Soul Edge. It is shattered now, but each shard still has evil energy. Each shard could contaminate an area the size of a large city." Tommy exhaled. "I bet you're wondering how I knew all this, and here's your answer."

At that moment, T.J. became aware of the fact that even though he had been talking to Tommy the entire time, the typing had continued throughout. He caught this once he noticed that the typing had abruptly stopped.

"Hello, T.J.," a slightly high-pitched robotic voice said. T.J. turned.

"Alpha Phi?" T.J. asked incredulously.

"Not quite," the robot replied. "I'm the new version, Beta Psi. But you were close. I took the liberty of downloading the information from the non-leveled consoles in the Power Chamber, and with Adam's help—"

"Adam's here too?" T.J. asked. "This is quite a reunion."

"Front and center," the young man said. T.J. turned once more to see Adam Park, wearing his trademark black bandanna and holding a laptop. "We only need two more to activate the Zeo powers."

"We'll worry about activating them once we get them," Tommy said. "The only reason why we haven't gone to get them yet is that there is the possibility of being found out by Necrid, as we don't have enough power to engage him head on. Also, we've discovered that the entire mountain is under surveillance by some mysterious force, but we're not sure about what that is yet. We've decided to take the chance and go. It'll be more of a search mission, and if we see anything suspicious there, I'll try to do something with the Red Battlezord."

T.J. rubbed a hand against the back of his head, exhaling. "So you're saying that this guy Necrid is after the Soul Edge powers, and to fight him, we have to reactivate the Zeo powers in a way no one's ever done before, and possibly even recall old zords to do this. And that you still have one of your old zords handy to provide back-up if needed."

"Precisely," Tommy replied. "Sounds easy, doesn't it?"

"Isn't that against the rules to use the zords without a monster growing?" T.J. asked.

"Not quite," Tommy replied. "First off, we're in some hard times right now, and secondly, the rules simply state that you can't escalate a battle unless forced to. We'll probably be forced to if we get into too much fighting. The powers will only be temporary, however, unless we get the Zeo crystal into our possession."

"Do all of us have powers at our disposal?" T.J. asked.

"I think so," Tommy replied. "I can still morph Zeo, Adam can use his Ninjetti form, and you have your Space powers, right?"

"Yeah," T.J. confirmed. "I kept the morpher like you told me. Andros doesn't know."

"Okay, it's time to go get the Zeo crystal," Tommy said.

"Again," Adam joked."

"Yes, again," Tommy said. "To the Power Chamber ruins."

………

Necrid's eyes narrowed. The robotic warrior standing before him was strangely designed, having golden tubes covering his entire lithe body. His face looked almost canine in nature, having a small blaster in front in addition to the cannon on his chest for supplementary armaments. These were also connected with tubes to what seemed to be a power box on his back.

"A bounty hunter, you say?" Necrid inquired suspiciously. "What kind of price are you asking?"

"It depends on the job." The bounty hunter folded his arms arrogantly. He knew that he had the fortress in his palm. "Also, price can be paid in many ways, from currency to control of planets to influence in the Galactic Council, which I know you have some sway in, Empress Pluto."

"He's done his homework." The empress smirked. Foolhardy young buck. She knew that he was doing calculations in his head at that moment. Double-crossing someone was generally her forte, and she'd take pleasure in this special case. "So, do you think you can do this one little thing for me? It's really quite simple, as your opponents will be low on power."

"There's nothing like a good workout." The bounty hunter flicked the places on his arms where biceps would have been, had he been human.

"I need you to stop the Power Rangers from getting to the Zeo crystal," Pluto said. "They are at the site right now, and once they find it, you need to overwhelm them and acquire it from them."

"That shouldn't be too hard," the bounty hunter replied. "Barox is on the job."

"Barox, hmmm," Pluto mused after Barox had left. "No shortage of Baroxian bounty hunters these days. So I guess he's replaceable."

"They come at a price, my queen," Necrid responded. "Besides, they are not to be trusted. Their only allegiance is to their pay, and once they get it one cannot tell what will come as a result. Consider for a moment, my sovereign, the following scenario."

"Speak," Pluto said.

"If the bounty hunter fails, or turns on us while in the fortress, we will be reluctant to engage in battle, as we only have immensely destructive weapons, but the bounty hunter will have nothing to lose, as it is not his fortress. The potency of our stronghold must not be compromised from the inside, as it is not shielded against attack from within. Power struggles will only mean our demise."

Pluto considered for a moment. "You bring up an important point, my general," she replied, at length. "I had not taken that into account. Rest assured, however, that if he does fail, we will not engage him onboard the fortress. That eliminates 50% of the danger. If he were to turn on us…"

"Let us do our consequent dealings on Earth, so as not to take any further risk," Necrid rumbled.

"I will consider it," Pluto replied. "Leave me."

As Necrid departed, Pluto stared after the retreating warrior's form. Concern for her well-being? Interesting, she concluded, but it could be a ploy, he could be an even better actor than that Barox bounty hunter. Settling into her cushioned throne, Pluto folded her arms and regarded the doorway Necrid had used to vacate the premises with mixed caution and appreciation. An explanation would be necessary, yes, but an outright questioning would only undermine their fortress. It was still unknown if she had had the full effect that she had wanted to have on this warrior, and thus she was still reluctant to apply the title of General to the green titan. Of all of her forces, he was the most powerful, and quite possibly the most suspect if something were to go wrong. Even after proving himself time and time again, Pluto could never be sure. Still, actions spoke louder than words, and it was Necrid who was trusted with the day-to-day attacks on smaller planets to add to her power. Shrugging, the empress closed her eyes and turned her thoughts to the goings-on on the Earth.

A third eye appeared on Pluto's forehead, able to cross galaxies and dimensions to see all the way to the surface of the earth. Sennen eyes were not common among intergalactic warlords, but having some supernatural capabilities helped in matters such as these. As a result, Pluto had many sorcerers who groomed her powers each day, creating in her Pluto's own magical prowess. Scanning around the southwestern region of North America, she came to a small town in southern California, the place where Zordon's ex-lackeys were trying to reconstruct some sort of a resistance—

"What is this?!" Pluto boomed, falling backward with shock as her third eye closed and disappeared.

"My queen?" Necrid hustled into the room, hearing the shriek of the monarch.

Pluto's mouth hung open in horror. This soon warped to an angry snarl as she stared ahead into the icy blackness of space, which mirrored the reserved fury she barely held in check. Shock and rage mixed in her features as her eyes bulged. The climax was reached as her fists clenched and she threw her head back, screaming to the stars above.

"Something is BLOCKING me!"

"Barox!" Necrid growled, hastening forward as his energy blade manifested almost involuntarily. "Of course! I knew it was a mistake to trust him!"

"Hold." A hand from Pluto stopped him. "Unless Barox is a time traveler, much like yourself, than the source of the mind block was not him. This power has an otherworldly feel to it, and furthermore, it's an old enchantment."

"My queen…you are not accusing…" Necrid raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not," Pluto snapped. "I know you aren't capable of this type of conjuring. No," she said, facing the window again, "this is someone else's doing. I'd suspect Zordon, but our dearly departed isn't that resourceful."

"Then who?" Necrid questioned.

………

"Here it is."

Tommy looked around the ruins of the Power Chamber. Formerly the house of Zordon, it had seen its last days a year earlier, having been attacked savagely by the space pirate Divatox. Now, instead of commanding glory and stunning architecture, it signified nothing but dangerous rubble and bitter defeat. For a moment, the former Red Ranger wondered if he could have done anything to stop this from happening. Regret had been on Tommy's mind ever since passing the torch along, but he knew it had to be done, even if it meant trusting someone else. And from what he had heard, it wouldn't have made much difference.

Pressing some buttons on a handheld scanner, he studied the viewscreen. "Nothing yet. We'll have to fan out and go at this the old-fashioned way, for now. Luckily, we've got the moon on our side, but not necessarily for long, since it's getting cloudy out here. Beta, you can come with me, Adam and T.J., you guys can head out the other way. Just yell if you find something."

Adam ran a hand through his hair, exhaling. He had seen this scene before, but seeing it again brought back all those memories. The initial shock, replaced by the worry about Zordon and Alpha.

Zordon…

It was hard to think of the ancient sage being gone forever, but it was true, nonetheless. Adam wondered if Zordon had known. If he had known that either way, he'd end up dead. What must he have been thinking in those last moments, when he instructed Andros to shatter the tube, and then to watch the Red Ranger perform the slash that so many had seen as their last sight on him? It would have been the culmination of the unraveling events of that past two years. It would have started with Alpha, who had probably been dismantled in the initial Eden invasion, and ended with that final stroke…

Completely helpless…

Utterly defenseless…

"Adam?"

The young Korean man turned. "Sorry, T.J. What were you saying?"

"I said, 'why don't we search over there,'" T.J. said, giving Adam a half-smile and pointing. As they walked, T.J. continued.

"This is the first time you've been back since we got chased into space, isn't it?" T.J. asked knowingly. At Adam's look of confusion, T.J. chuckled slightly. "We've all been back since then, and we went through the same stages. I could see it on your face, but only because it was on mine first."

Adam smiled. "Thanks for understanding." He hesitated. "You know, at first I thought I was mad at Andros or something, but it's not like there was anything else he could do. Zordon gave himself to save us all. His choice. Andros was just the instrument."

"I have a feeling that's not all, though," T.J. said. "You kinda sound like you're trying to convince yourself."

Adam sighed, looking away. "Sometimes, that's how it is. I haven't seen Andros since when I was training Carlos, and I haven't ever actually even talked to him. He seems like a good leader, but I don't know…at times I feel like he could have done something else, anything else." Adam's eyes met T.J.'s. "And Ashley's with him now, and I can't help but worry."

"You don't think he'd hurt her, do you?" T.J. asked.

"Of course not, it's just that…" Adam sighed again. "He decided to destroy Zordon for the 'greater good.' What if he thinks the same about her sometime along the line?"

"He won't," T.J. assured. "He did have to make that decision once, but Ashley's still with us, isn't she?" T.J. clapped a hand on Adam's shoulder. "Besides, I'm sure Ashley can take care of herself. She's a strong woman."

"Yeah, I am."

T.J. and Adam slowly turned toward the voice. Its source was a young woman dressed in a golden brown skirt and a yellow shirt. Her arms were folded and an eyebrow was raised in a gesture that wasn't exactly accusing, but inquisitive even so.

"I'm not going to ask why you don't trust Andros, since we have a bigger issue on our hands," Ashley said.

"You mean the issue of you following me here?" T.J. countered.

"Actually, there's someone over by Tommy and Beta," Ashley said. "Andros and I were tracking a rip in the space-time continuum, and the source is around here." She held a small scanner in front of her. "The person is using a cloaking device, so we have to be careful. Especially in the dark."

The group slowly approached Tommy and Beta, Ashley leading the way with scanner in hand.

"Do you have anything?" T.J. whispered.

"I don't know," Ashley replied. "The life-form's body signature seems to be human. But there's a trace of something…inhuman, and its evil energy is reading off the charts!"

"That's gotta be a trap," Adam said. "Tommy!"

"Huh?" Tommy whirled around. "What's going on?"

"Behind you!" T.J. said.

"Let's power up!" Tommy shouted. "Zeo Ranger 5, Red!"

"Let's rocket!" T.J. followed. In an instant, Tommy's Red Ranger armor had burned onto him, and T.J.'s molded into place.

A shape began to flicker in between the morphed Rangers. Standing up, the cloaked figure was about as tall as Ashley. Neither T.J. nor Tommy could make out the facial features. Suddenly, a pair of bladed tonfas appeared in the hands of the life-form in a mist of gray. The newcomer held one out on either side, looking back and forth between Tommy and T.J.

"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get," Tommy said. "Zeo Five Power Sword!"

"Astro Axe, power up!" T.J. called as well. Both Rangers held out their weapons in anticipation, T.J. standing in front of Ashley and Adam to protect them, and Tommy doing the same for Beta.

Not a single fighter moved. Then suddenly, the mysterious one seemed to lunge at both Rangers with the tonfas. T.J. and Tommy instinctively lashed forward, slicing with their respective weapons, but the stranger deftly avoided the blow, causing the sword and axe to clash against one another. The stranger rocked back into a handstand position, kicking with both feet against T.J.'s and Tommy's stomachs. The Rangers fell backward, stumbling into the rocks around the Power Chamber. Tommy jumped up first, swinging his sword. The stranger targeted him, beckoning to him and running into the center of the wreckage from the Power Chamber.

"We can't let him get into the lower chambers," T.J. said near-breathlessly. Leaping up to follow Tommy, he raced after the cloaked figure. As he arrived, the two were already dueling. The stranger kicked at a boulder; impossibly, it flew into the air and hurtled toward Tommy. Tommy slashed at it with his sword, shattering it, but not before another two boulders came his way. He sliced the second, but the third flew toward his head—

—and was halted by the chop of T.J.'s axe.

The two Rangers cut closer and closer to the stranger, ducking and dodging what they could, and destroying what they couldn't.

"Cover me," T.J. said. "I have a plan."

Pulling out his Astro Blaster and separating it slightly, he slipped the axe in between the barrels of the gun. Blasting at both boulders, he leapt into the air, shooting blast after blast down at the cloaked figure. Tommy soon followed, brandishing his deadly blade. The wind kicking back from the blasts blew the hood over the stranger's head back.

Ashley, Adam and Beta flocked over to the other two Rangers, surrounding the stranger, a young Asian-looking woman with large brown eyes and a dark braid going down her back. On her head was some sort of headdress, looking somewhat like a woven purple-and-white basket with twin blue flaps. She wore a couple of large earrings with scarlet and gold ringed ornaments dangling from them, and although she was all but defeated, she regarded the Rangers with indomitable defiance.

"Okay, let's hear your explanation," Tommy said. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"

The young woman squinted and cocked her head slightly. It looked as if she was straining to hear Tommy, but it wasn't as if he was speaking quietly. It was almost as if…

"She doesn't understand you," Adam realized. "She doesn't speak English."

Ashley punched a few buttons on her scanner. "I've brought up the language sensitivity program." She typed a few more keys. "Um, _parlez-vous__ francais?_"

The young woman gave no response, still with a quizzical look that told Ashley that the stranger obviously did not speak French.

"She looks East Asian," Adam said. "Try Chinese or Japanese."

Ashley attempted the two languages, but to no avail. It was only when T.J. said "_Se habla espagnol?_" that the young woman showed any sign of understanding. However, the situation didn't seem any better.

The woman stepped back, obviously shocked. She shouted a line in some unintelligible language, getting back into a fighting stance.

"Ashley, did you get that?" T.J. asked, holding out his axe.

"I did, and the computer says it's some sort of ancient Filipino dialect," Ashley replied. "I'll get the computer to tell her that we're not going to hurt her."

Ashley typed into the small keyboard.

"Could you hurry up with that?" Tommy asked anxiously, holding out his sword. "It looks like she's going to attack us again."

The computer said the phrase in Filipino, and the young woman stopped, her eyes darting from the computer to T.J. to Tommy and back to the computer again. She responded in Filipino.

"She wants to know how she can trust us," Ashley relayed.

"Um, tell her we knew Zordon and Alpha," Tommy said, but from the young woman's reaction, it was obvious that the name "Zordon" was the same in any language. She quickly strapped back up her tonfas and held up her hands in a show of peace.

"All right," Tommy said, relieved. "Zeo Five, power down."

"Space Blue, power down," T.J. said. In a moment, both were restored to human form.

"I'm gonna ask who she is," Ashley said. "By the way, don't we have some sort of translation chip we can all use to communicate?"

As Ashley relayed the question, Beta walked over to Tommy. "Actually, one of my subroutines is translation. If you have electronic devices that handle sound, I can download the program to it and we'll be able to communicate."

"Well, we don't have the old communicators, except T.J. and Ashley," Tommy replied. "But we do have cell phones, so we could possibly use those." He held out his cell phone, offering it to the robot.

Beta said nothing, taking the cell phone and downloading the English-to-Filipino protocol. Then he presented it back to Tommy. "If you have headphones, it'll be even easier to work with."

As Tommy activated the program, he dialed Adam's phone. Adam put up a hand to stay the young woman, then answered his phone and handed it to her. The woman looked slightly confused, but took the phone.

"I apologize for earlier," Tommy said. "I'm Tommy. What's your name?"

The woman looked at the device in her hand, then back at Tommy. She realized that even though she couldn't understand Tommy, it was his voice coming through the strange little metal box. So she hesitantly replied, "I am called Talim Viento, the last high priestess of the winds, and I seek the Zeo Crystal."

"She says she's looking for the Zeo Crystal," Tommy relayed. Then he turned back to Talim. "How do you know Zordon?"

"Zordon helped me in a time of need," Talim responded. "When the Dark Blade threatened to poison my soul, he absorbed its evil into his sword. He said it was made from one of the six sub-crystals of the Zeo Crystal, and when the sword was constructed, the Zeo Crystal was reformed to function solely with five pieces. I am looking for the crystal to purge the other pieces of the Dark Blade."

"The Dark Blade?" Tommy asked. Then he turned to the group. "Guys, it sounds like she's talking about Soul Edge." He faced Talim once more. "Do you know who has the other pieces?"

"I have been following a warrior who gathers these shards," Talim replied. "He is called Necrid. He does not come from this world, however. He is from my world."

"Okay, we've got a match," Tommy said. "She's tailing Necrid." Then he remembered something Talim had said. "You mentioned Zordon purging the crystal with his sword. You knew Zordon when he was a warrior?"

"Yes, he was the head of the Manji Clan," Talim said. "In my world, four years ago, he was doing battle against one who he had recently banished from the clan."

"Who was this?" Tommy asked.

"Her name was Ritaku," Talim replied. "Her title was Kunimitsu, the 'warrior from the country.' However, when it was discovered that she had stolen for herself, Zordon changed her title from Kunimitsu to Barbarossa, or 'the one who repulses,' and cast her out of the clan."

"Ritaku, the one who repulses," Tommy breathed. "Rita Repulsa! Okay, apparently Talim is from a long time ago, guys. She knew Zordon and Rita when they were still around on Earth."

Talim continued. "However, many people did not know him by his true name, Zordon. He told me when he went after Barbarossa that if anyone asked, in order to preserve the element of surprise, his name was his title, the 'warrior with a purpose.' This title became the name 'Yoshimitsu.'"

"Yoshimitsu?" Adam repeated. "That places Talim's time period at about…"

"The sixteenth century," Beta finished.

"So your purpose is our purpose," Tommy said. "Talim, how old are you?"

"I have seen eighteen summers."

"So then that fulfills that half of the prerequisites," Tommy replied. "And we can assume that you have 'attitude.' Anyone else see what I see?"

"I don't know what you see, but I see five teenagers with attitude," Adam quipped. "Of course, that's just me."

"Talim," Tommy said, "we can help you, but you're going to need to do something for us. It seems like you're a warrior, and we are as well. However, we're part of a fighting force, picked by Zordon, called the Power Rangers. We need one more person to reactivate the Zeo Crystal and join it with our own powers that we have right now."

"But you wield the power of the Red Zeo crystal," Talim said.

"Temporarily," Tommy explained. "I'm running on borrowed time right now, and I daresay that if I tried to morph now, it wouldn't work. We need a fifth Ranger."

"You would like me to be part of Zordon's team?" Talim asked. "I would consider it an honor."

"Thank you, Talim," Tommy replied. "Now, we have to find the Zeo crystal and merge it with our powers."

"I had located it when you arrived," Talim said. "I hid, fearing that you were part of Necrid's forces and unwilling to help them with their work. I have been shielding the entire mountain area from outside surveillance by way of counter-spells. I can show you the way now."

"Guys, she's going to show us where the Zeo crystal is," Tommy relayed. "Let's do this."

They clambered over the rocks to the center of the Power Chamber ruins. Talim pointed down.

"The crystal is exactly twelve meters below us," Beta reported. "Tommy, hold your morpher out over the center. You should at least have enough power to summon it."

Tommy summoned the devices to his wrists, and then crossed them over the rubble. The ground started to shake beneath him, and within seconds the Zeo crystal was poking out from the rocks. In a few more seconds, it was hovering over them.

"We've got to get this out of here," T.J. said. "We don't know if Necrid is in the area. He could have lackeys that could come after us."

"Lackeys like me, and I'll thank you to hand over that crystal," a sinister, mechanical voice said. The group turned toward the sound.

"Barox," Adam said. "A bounty hunter after the Zeo Crystal. We're going to have to fight."

"Okay, I guess I'm the only one with functioning powers right now, so I'll take the bounty hunter," T.J. suggested. "You guys can protect the Zeo crystal."

"Okay, we'll stay here," Tommy replied.

"Is he going to fight alone?" Talim inquired. "I can help."

Tommy shook his head. "He uses energy weapons…You could get hurt going against him."

"Then I'll use my weapons." Talim summoned her tonfas immediately.

Tommy knew the translation protocol couldn't have interpreted the phrase correctly. "I mean, he uses the same type of weapons that T.J. and I used."

"You mean, the same type Necrid uses and used in my world?" Talim looked at Tommy with a boldly confident grin. "Come now. I know what I am facing off against. I fought you, didn't I?"

Tommy had to laugh. "All right, help T.J."

"However," Talim said, with a more serious tone, "I cannot maintain my cloaking wards. We may be subject to outsiders looking in."

"It doesn't matter anymore," Tommy simply replied.

Nodding, Talim dashed off behind T.J., as Barox brandished a giant axe to match T.J.'s Astro Axe. Tommy turned his attention to the Zeo crystal, studying it.

"See if you can recharge your morpher with that," Ashley suggested, hurrying over to him. "If we can activate the Zeo powers, we can eliminate the threat of this bounty hunter, since you guys already fought a Barox, right?"

"I don't know," Tommy replied. "This one's survived up until now, and we can assume from what he said that he's working with Necrid. We don't know what kind of power he has."

"Well, try anyway," Ashley said, throwing a glance over at the ensuing battle between Talim, T.J. and Barox.

Tommy placed his hand toward the Zeo crystal. A rod on the conglomerate rock shimmered with red light. Reaching for it, Tommy was surprised to see that it came off easily. Holding it toward his morpher, Tommy waited.

And waited.

"Did it work?" Ashley inquired.

Feeling slightly foolish, Tommy turned. "I don't know."

Just then, they heard a scream of pain from Talim, who had just taken a devastating blow from Barox. T.J. stood in front of her, holding his axe out protectively.

"Oh no!" Tommy stood quickly. "Talim's in trouble."

"What are you going to do?" Ashley asked, slightly fearful. "We can't take on that guy unmorphed."

"I've got to help them." Tommy's grip tightened around the Zeo sub-crystal in his hand. All of a sudden, the crystal seemed to scorch his hand; he cried out in shock, but for some reason could not let go. He brought the crystal up to his face. Glowing scarlet in the arriving pale moonlight, the crystal seared his palm yet compelled him to hold on. He realized that it wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but that he was only slightly aware of the fact that it should have been. His confusion was only beginning; as he looked wildly between his friends and the crystal of power in his hand, flames appeared out of nowhere and danced in between them, separating him from Adam and Ashley.

"I think it's activating," he barely heard Ashley say to Adam, as his eyes were blinded by fire blazing before his eyes. Suddenly he could hear, see, smell, even taste the conflagration all around him; it obscured his view of everything else.

But then, just as suddenly as it had come, it was all gone. He was standing in front of four Zeo sub-crystals with Ashley, Adam and Beta, looking at T.J., and holding his own—

Tommy looked down to his hand.

His empty hand.

"Wha…what happened?" Tommy asked, looking around wildly. "Where'd it go?"

"I don't know," Adam said. "You were just standing there frozen for a sec, and then it vanished."

"You didn't see the fire?" Tommy asked, still readjusting his bearings.

"What fire?" Adam and Ashley regarded one another for a moment, then turned back to Tommy.

A scream from Talim alerted Tommy to the task at hand. He turned just in time to see Barox standing over Talim and T.J. with the axe raised high.

"No!" Tommy thrust out his palm, in an attempt to stay Barox.

In that moment, a ball of flame, about the size of a grapefruit, materialized about two inches from Tommy's open hand. As Tommy thrust his hand forward, the ball shot toward Barox as if propelled by his vain gesture. The fireball hit Barox, knocking him to the side and engulfing both him and his axe in flame. Pitching sideways, he fell down the side of the mountain.


	3. Legacy's Rebirth

The Power of Wind: Chapter Three

By: Vilepawn Archfiend

Disclaimer: Necrid is the property of Todd McFarlane Productions. Talim/Soul Edge/Soul Calibur are the property of Namco. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers Zeo, Power Rangers Turbo, and Power Rangers in Space are the property of Saban Entertainment and now BVS Entertainment. Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game and affiliates are copyright Kazuki Takahashi and property of Konami Corporation. No profit was made in the production of this fanfiction work.

The Power of Wind: Legacy's Rebirth

"You've got to be kidding me," Pluto snapped, turning her attention away from the scene. "Barox has been defeated. And that red one, didn't he forget to say 'hadouken'?"

"I do not understand, my queen," Necrid replied.

"Oh, forget it. The fact of the matter is, Barox was beaten by a fireball. A tiny little insignificant fireball. Of all the humiliating ways to be overcome…"

"Perhaps it was a supernatural fireball," Necrid suggested. "We have no way of knowing the nature of this projectile attack that the Red Ranger has acquired. A fireball could simply be a camouflage for whatever else could be contained within the space. It may not even be truly—"

"Spare me. In any case, we will need some sort of a plan. Blind attacks won't work, so we'll need some way to surreptitiously weaken them so we can defeat them."

"But how will we distract them so?" Necrid wondered. "The Red Ranger has already bonded with the first sub-crystal. We can't get that away from him unless he is destroyed, and we can't destroy him if we don't have the power of the crystal. Is this not an eternal paradox?"

………

"How…?" Adam left the question hanging. All three teens stood in stunned silence, then rushed as one to attend to T.J. and Talim.

"Are you guys ok?" Tommy asked, kneeling beside them.

"Yeah, I'm fine," T.J. said.

"I'm also alright," Talim replied.

"Okay, well—" Tommy broke off. His head snapped toward Talim, who now also seemed in shock.

"Did anyone else hear that?" Tommy asked.

"Wait a sec," T.J. asked. "How'd you know what she just said? And how'd she know what you said?"

"I don't know," Tommy said. "Maybe it has something to do with the crystal disappearing."

"Maybe it bonded with you," Adam suggested.

"That could be it," Tommy reasoned. "It could explain why I understood her, but why could she understand me?"

_The crystal conveyed your message to her soul; not her ears._

"What?" Tommy realized everyone was looking at him strangely.

"What is it?" Tommy asked.

"What was that?" Ashley asked.

"Yeah, are you studying ventriloquism?" Adam asked jokingly.

"What?" Tommy cocked an eyebrow.

"You just said something like, 'maybe the message was conveyed to her soul instead of her ears by way of the sub-crystal,' but you didn't do it with your mouth."

"It wasn't me," Tommy said. "I heard it too, but from a third-person perspective."

"We'll figure that all out later," T.J. said. "Right now, we need to get our powers as well."

"Here's the crystal," Ashley said, holding out the four-sectioned crystal. One of the crystals glowed yellow, so she took it and handed it to T.J.

"I guess I'm looking for blue," T.J. said, and even as the words exited his mouth, one of the remaining three crystals glowed with a brilliant azure color. Taking this, he handed the dual crystal to Adam. As Adam reached for the crystal, it shone green for a second, then changed to a deep blackish-purple color.

"Wait, how did it know…?" Adam began, but decided to leave that question as well. He hesitated before giving Talim the remaining crystal. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Talim cocked her head sideways in a gesture of not understanding, and motioned for Tommy to translate. He did, and Tommy reported her reply: "I say again, it is my honor to use this power that Zordon secured."

Adam handed Talim the last crystal, and he expected it to become pink, but instead it turned a glorious white.

"Okay, I guess you're the White Ranger then," Tommy said. "Welcome to the fold."

"Thank you," Talim said, smiling. "Together we will defeat Necrid and purge the shards of the Dark Blade."

………

The sound of metal against metal grated in Pluto's ears. Though she detested the sound, she knew that all of her blades needed to be their sharpest should she happen to go into combat with the Rangers. Or possibly Barox, for after his previous battle she felt like wringing his neck. She had admitted that his present failure had probably been on account of their underestimation of the inherent powers of the Rangers themselves, but the situation still had been avoidable. Now that they were fighting upwards, it would be more difficult to separate the Rangers from their Zeo crystals. However, Pluto mused, the Rangers had unwittingly shown their hand. If there were to be another instance where they ambushed the Rangers in civilian form, there would be no mistakes like the one that night. They would know this time not to miscalculate their power. So perhaps this defeat's timing was actually a victory in and of itself.

Shaking her wrists out, Pluto whipped out all of her blades at once. The strident sound of metal singing against air greeted her ears and a grin crept across her face as she imagined the Power Rangers falling at her hand. Somewhere over the horizon, victory lurked just beyond her grasp, but once they secured even one Zeo sub-crystal, it would be so easy to destroy the teenagers. Obviously the one without the crystal would be the weakest; his or her demise would weaken the rest of the team even more. And time had told that the greatest threats to Power Rangers were evil Rangers themselves. But evil Rangers had failed in the fact that undoing a spell based on an artifact simply required destroying the artifact, and spells based on feelings were as fickle as the humans themselves. Pluto was glad she'd separated herself from that, at least. Though they were agile and intelligent, the weak emotions and body were not advantageous, and sickening at some times.

Now, all of that weakness was but a memory. Nothing but strength and prowess graced Pluto's harpy-like form now. _Check me out_. A pair of leggings fitted with scales gilded her calves. Her thighs were bare, her skin having been fortified during her transformation. Around her generous hips and buttocks was her viciously deadly war-belt. Corset-like armor made of the same scales as the leggings fit neatly around her torso and bust, and over her arms were twin metallic sheaths that hid rows and rows of daggers waiting to be released. More of these daggers were hidden in the folds of her wings, which she kept folded behind her shoulder blades. Normally she wasn't a vain empress, but there were times when she noticed her flawless features, both aesthetically and from a warrior's standpoint.

And yet, the possibility of more power loomed in Pluto's mind. The cyclical nature of the quest for power was not unknown to her, and yet she was certain that if she obtained the Zeo crystal it would be enough. It was almost cliché to her that power called to more power, and absolute power corrupts one absolutely, but she was corrupt through and through, and there would be no greater power for her to assume afterward, so she had little to worry about. Visions of herself torturing the Power Rangers individually to their wretched ends danced through her mind—

"My queen?" Necrid's voice snapped Pluto out of her reverie.

"What is it?" Pluto inquired.

"As you know, Barox was unsuccessful in his attempt to locate and abscond with the Zeo crystal. However, now we have failed in our attempts to locate Barox. It would seem that he has, in effect, deserted us."

Pluto's eyes narrowed, but the brewing look of fury was quickly replaced by one of confusion. "Why would he betray us, though? We have not given him a reward for his work."

"We are attempting to figure that out, my queen," Necrid rumbled. "He may be doubling his efforts to come up with a plan, or perhaps he is recruiting other soldiers to help."

"You should do the same," Pluto said. "I'd have you continue the search for him, but we don't have time for that anymore. Not after one of the Rangers has already bonded with the Zeo sub-crystal."

"I already have someone searching for him," Necrid replied. "I created him from a portion of my life-force. I blended it with a creature of strength from the earth, the ox, and poured his soul full of rage. He is ready for battle, and can call upon animals to his aid if Barox happens to be double-crossing us."

"An enraged ox-general who is ready for battle," Pluto said. "I should have him fight the Rangers instead of that Barox. Especially since you created him."

"Perhaps, but first he will locate the bounty hunter," Necrid replied.

Pluto had to smile. "I must congratulate you for your foresight in creating this new warrior for my army. Just keep doing your job, and there might be a planet in it for you."

_Keep doing your job_…

_What is your job? Have you forgotten? Is this what you were created to do? Do you really think so?_

"Necrid?" Pluto looked at him expectantly.

"My queen, thank you," Necrid replied, forcing himself to ignore what had just happened. The instant of temporary madness was simply for a moment, and thus could be disregarded. Such a small episode would hardly be cause for alarm. It wasn't as if it were a monumental fit; rather, it had been merely a small suggestion from the recesses of his mind that he hadn't quite honed to their peak yet. Meditation and training would fix that rather quickly.

At the instantaneous request of his mind, he was suddenly transported to the Egyptian-styled tomb in which he practiced his art. The giant ethereal blade materialized in his left hand. Regarding what would have been the hilt, he steeled himself into a focus. As quickly as it had appeared, the blade reshaped into two. Holding his arms wide, he waved the blades in a series of complex motions of the kata he had developed, then stabbed the blades into the ground directly on either side of him. Stepping around them delicately, Necrid focused on the creed emblazoned on his mind.

_Protect the Queen…_

_Protect the Queen…_

_Protect the Queen…_

Reaching back and bringing the blades forth from the impaled stone, Necrid turned quickly, the blades merging once more into the long glam sword, and chopped horizontally. Quickly, as he finished the movement, he blended it smoothly into a downward strike, changing the glam into a giant axe. Then, he spun quickly, morphing the axe into a rapier, and stabbed swiftly in a powerful down-strike. Ending the combo, he finished with a whirling motion, spinning around in a crouch and chopping sideways with what was now a katana. As he concluded the spin, the weapon disappeared completely, and he lowered into a seated, Indian-style position to meditate.

………

"He's gone," Ashley confirmed, coming up the side of the mountain. "I don't think you destroyed him, but you certainly got him on the run. How did you do that anyway?"

"I guess it has something to do with the crystal," Tommy said. "It never gave us that type of power before though."

"Sign me up," Adam said. "Having this type of power would mean no vulnerability anymore. Or at least decreased vulnerability; even unmorphed, we'd have power."

"Well, first we need to bond with our crystals," T.J. pointed out. "Any ideas, guys?"

"How did you do it?" Ashley asked Tommy.

"I don't know," Tommy responded. "It just, well, happened. You saw it, didn't you?"

"Think about it first," T.J. suggested. "What was going on at the time?"

"You guys were getting stomped by that bounty hunter," Adam said. "Then Tommy's crystal started glowing and bam."

"Do you think it could've responded to the danger?" T.J. proposed. "Maybe it saw that we were in trouble, or sensed that you needed it to protect us, so it bonded with you."

"This could be tough then," Tommy reasoned. "If we need someone to attack us, it could take forever for us to get the powers."

"Don't forget, we still can't morph Zeo," Ashley reminded.

Adam frowned. "Your stunning show of optimism is touching."

"Sarcasm's an even bigger help. In any case, we do need morphers to fight Necrid."

"It was easier when we had people to tell us how to morph," Tommy said. He noticed Talim regarding him. She had been relatively silent during the conversation, mostly because following the spirit of the conversation was easier than having Tommy translate. But she could understand him, and respond to him.

"We're on our own," she said softly. "We don't have help. Zordon has met his demise, has he not?"

Tommy nodded.

"Well, it looks like we'll have to wait," Adam said, shrugging. "Hopefully we can figure something out."

"So what do we do now?" Ashley asked. "Just go home and hope something presents itself? That may be easy for some of you, but Talim has nowhere to stay. Not to mention that T.J. and I can barely go anywhere without someone getting all 'crazed-fan' on us."

As Tommy relayed the pertinent information to Talim, her eyes widened. "Oh, don't worry. I have spent many a night under the stars. I am a Wind priestess; if I get cold, I know how to change that."

Tommy couldn't really argue with her. "Okay, so we'll let each other know if something happens."

"Right," T.J. replied. The others agreed.

"I will stay here for now," Talim said, making her way across the mountain to get her cloak. "Fare thee well, my companions."

"I'll stay with you," Beta said in Filipino. Talim nodded, and the robot followed after her.

As Ashley and Adam left, Tommy regarded T.J. "So, what's new?"

"Not much," T.J. responded. "Just relaxing after this whole past year. It's been hectic, between Divatox and Astronema. And now Necrid's coming after us."

"Have you been able to manage well?" Tommy asked, concerned.

"It's been ok, I guess," T.J. replied. "I mean, we did win and all, even though it took me a while to realize that."

"What do you mean?" Tommy inquired.

"Well, I realized that it was a big fight against evil, not a fight against Divatox and a fight against Astronema. Losing the Megazords was harsh. Losing the battle for the Power Chamber was worse. I mean, I kind of felt like you shouldn't have chosen me for Red Lightning."

"T.J., I knew and know that your leadership would see you through," Tommy replied. "I could venture a guess, but I already know that it was your insight that stopped the Psychos. Am I right?"

"I guess," T.J. answered modestly. "I came up with a few good strategies."

"And the Psychos could have thrashed Divatox without breaking a sweat," Tommy asserted. "So you see, even as blue, you're still a Red Ranger at heart. And yes, you did win."

"Don't get me wrong though, there were a lot of good times," T.J. said. "Even though they were big shoes to fill, I guess I just focused on doing what you'd have done."

"But I'm glad you stayed you, instead of trying to fill anyone's shoes," Tommy said. "You weren't just 'the other Red Lightning.' You were Lightning Fire-Tamer. That was your own legacy; your own accomplishment. Just because during your leadership, the Power Chamber fell, it doesn't mean that someone else could have prevented it. Without the zords, it was a lost cause."

"That was my fault as well, though," T.J. put in.

"I disagree," Tommy said. "You fought Goldgoyle, and he was too powerful. Frankly, he should have destroyed the Earth, but you stopped him with the Turbo RAM. Good thinking on your part, once again. And it held off the immediate destruction of the Earth. The thing is, getting the zords destroyed and defeating Goldgoyle was much better than leaving the zords in the holding bay and waiting for a miracle. Goldgoyle was an immediate threat, and you were ready to sacrifice anything to defeat him. Even your zords."

"True." T.J. was sobered. "Man, I was on fire."

Tommy smiled. "Even before you became a Ranger, Kat and I noticed something about you and Cassie. And you saved me."

"You noticed us?" T.J. asked.

"In the Piranhatron fight in the desert," Tommy explained. "You two had an intensity that blew us away. It was as if you were made to be Power Rangers."

_Made to be Power Rangers_. T.J. had to smile at that. "Thanks, Tommy."

"Anytime, my man," Tommy replied.

The two crossed the main entrance to the Angel Grove Zoo, where they would part ways.

"See you tomorrow," Tommy said.

"Yeah, I'll see you," T.J. replied.

"Oh, don't be leaving so quickly," a strange voice growled. T.J. and Tommy both spun around. In front of them was a gigantic minotaur-like creature, clad in dark blood-colored armor. In one giant brown fist he gripped a wickedly curved blade. "I'm looking for a robot by the name of Barox. You wouldn't happen to know where this robot friend of mine is?"

"We saw him earlier and would be glad to send you where he is right now," Tommy retorted, taking a fighting stance.

"Actually, since we're both looking for a Zeo sub-crystal, if you give me one, he'll just find you anyway," the ox replied.

"If it's a fight you want…" T.J. began.

"Oh, I'm not going to fight you," the ox said, holding up a hand to stay the two Rangers.

"What are you going to do then, talk us into giving it to you?" Tommy asked, getting out of stance.

"You didn't hear me correctly," the ox replied. "I said _I'm_ not going to fight you." He stepped to the side, and a couple of wolves bounded out of the zoo. They had a slight resemblance to regular wolves, but it was obvious that this creature had done something to them to change them. Their eyes glowed with a gangrenous green shade, and they slavered through the cracks of the rows of scythe-like daggers in their mouths as if rabid. Their fur was blue with giant rose petals protruding from their backs, and bristled all about their bodies as they looked over their pending meal. Claws sliced out and down from their paws and into the ground, carving streaks in the pavement. The nightmarish creatures took a few steps toward the teens, growling menacingly.

"They are."

T.J. looked concerned. "If those are real wolves, and he just changed them a lot, we still can't just fight them like a normal monster."

"No, but we can fight him," Tommy said, pointing at the ox-warrior.

"Wanna bet?" The ox pointed his hand forward at Tommy and T.J. "Attack, my beasts!"

The wolves leapt up toward Tommy and T.J. Despite the teeth and claws, the main attack of the wolves was to ram Tommy and T.J. to the ground. Even though the two had been in defensive stances, they still felt the brunt of the blow and had the wind knocked out of them. Seeing some newspaper littering the street in front of them, Tommy launched a fireball at the dry papers. The wall of fire targeted the instincts of the wolves, making them back off slightly.

"Well, looks like you'll have to fight your own battle," Tommy challenged from the ground. "You can't change what they are, or what they fear."

"Impudent fool," the ox snorted, leaping over the flames in a single bound and landing heavily. His hooves cracked the ground beneath him, leaving a spider-web pattern. "You die now."

T.J., who had gotten to his feet, as the ox was not bearing down on him, pointed an accusatory finger at the ox. "I don't think so."

"Silence," the ox snapped, not even looking at T.J. "You are not important; this one is the one who has bonded with the Red crystal, and therefore the one who shall suffer my wrath first. You do not—"

He was cut off by a flying side-kick from T.J. Stumbling sideways, he righted himself and slashed down at Tommy. Having landed next to Tommy, T.J. spun into a crouch in front of Tommy and used both hands to form a crossed-arm overhead guard.

Suddenly, water appeared before T.J.'s eyes. He felt like he was at the bottom of the ocean, and he could see fish swimming past his vision. The sea obscured his vision of the ox, but he kept his hands in the crossed guard. Something felt cold in his pocket; he realized it was the sub-crystal.

The ox smiled as he brought the butt of the sword down to slam into the foolish one's head. However, his smile turned quickly to a look of shock as an arch of thick, unbreakable ice formed over T.J., blocking the strike completely. Capitalizing on the missed attempt, T.J. kicked out the ox's legs, causing him to fall face-first onto the arch. The ice did not give way; rather, it delivered a rather striking blow to his face, which was unprotected. He flopped to the ground, stunned.

"All right, T.J.," Tommy said. "You did it, man. You bonded with the crystal."

"Yeah, I did," T.J. said. "And I think I know what triggers it. I'll tell you my theory tomorrow."

………

"Looks like a dud to me," Pluto said, having monitored the battle. "I guess there's no such thing as the perfect warrior."

"My queen, it is not his own personal power that is an asset, but rather the abilities he has," Necrid pointed out, entering the room. "See how he transformed those earthly creatures into weapons of mass destruction? And from what information I have gathered, those wolves are not as mighty as other earthly animals, so think of what he could do with more powerful beasts."

"Perhaps, but he'll need to redeem himself after that failure," Pluto replied. "It seems as though the Blue Ranger has also bonded with his crystal. No surprise there; he and the other are our greatest threats."

"What about the priestess, my queen?" Necrid asked. "She has created great setbacks in the mission, and the fact that she has allied herself with your enemies may spell disaster for us all."

"Have some Tengu warriors attack them," Pluto said. "They are out in the open."

"The Tengu are useless," declared a familiar voice. Necrid and Pluto turned to see Barox walk in.

Pluto chuckled. "Apparently, they have company in that boat. Good job on your mission, Sparky."

"Never mind that, Empress Pluto," Barox replied. "My Dread Riders are superior to the Tengu in every way. They are ready to strike whenever necessary."

"Send them now," Pluto commanded immediately.

"You didn't let me finish," Barox cut in. "As soon as they have finished charging, they will easily be able to overwhelm the remaining Rangers who have not yet bonded with their crystals."

"But for now, we have to wait," Pluto grumbled, annoyed. "All right, we seem to have no choice, so we'll wait. Barox, find that ox and wait for my next instructions. Necrid, ready the war-chariot. Once those Dread Riders have finished charging, we cannot waste any more time. We need to be ready for attack. Get two quantrons and come with me."

Necrid followed after Pluto, entering the war-room and crossing the catwalk to the bridge. Scattered about the room were various warriors of all different types. Most of them were salvaged after the galaxy-wide invasion and Zordon's shock wave. During the time that Zordon's energy wave had washed the forces of evil attacking the planets making up the Galactic Alliance from existence, Pluto's sorcerers had opened several portals across the galaxy, saving different foot soldiers and monsters from each planet. As a result, Necrid could see and identify from the bridge putty patrollers, cogs, super putties, piranhatrons, quantrons, Tengu warriors, rock soldiers, archfiends, bounty hunters and the like lining almost every inch of the crowded war-room. Most were training, and some were lounging around. Necrid sought out two quantrons, the finest of the fleet, and brought them with him and Pluto.

"What do you intend to do, my queen?" Necrid inquired.

"My sources tell me that the Rangers are largely out in the open," Pluto said. "So far, our attacks have been largely useless due to the fact that they have almost helped the Rangers in terms of bonding with their Zeo crystals. However, if we attacked when a Ranger was not in the immediate vicinity of their crystal, we could probably be victorious. The Ranger might not even know the crystal was gone."

"Another option is to somehow persuade the Ranger that what he or she is doing is not the right thing," Necrid said. "If we could make a Ranger willingly give us the crystal, then that would serve our purposes even better."

"So while we wait for the Dread Riders to charge, you will seek out the Black and Yellow Rangers," Pluto instructed. "Use whatever methods you need, but only use fighting as a last resort."

………

Adam walked up the path leading to the apartment. He was used to coming home this late after a long night in the lab, but he'd never thought that he'd be spending his summer getting that rush back, that awesome feeling of being a Ranger again. And the timing couldn't have been better. It would have been impossible to keep up with the Ranger stuff during college, even while living off campus with Tommy as a roommate, which was the main reason why he'd left in the first place. He'd considered returning back when he saw Carlos during sophomore year, but he knew it wouldn't be right to leave Carlos with what the young man had considered a failure. So he'd trained Carlos back into top form, and they'd beaten the Lizwizard monster together, even with his own waning powers.

That had been part of what spurred on this project with Tommy. After they'd received an anonymous tip about Soul Edge through an unknown frequency on their old communicators, and Beta had come to help them, they'd done some research on the side and discovered the truth about the Dinozords. And when they found out they could morph again, it became even more imperative to continue the project.

"Well, time to get back into the swing of things," Adam muttered to himself, looking for his key.

"Not necessarily," a deep voice behind him growled. Adam whirled around to see…

"Necrid! You're that time-traveler who Talim's after!" Adam said, then regretted it. But Necrid had to know Talim was following him, so he couldn't have done too much damage.

"Yes, it is I, Necrid," Necrid rumbled. As Adam entered a fighting stance, Necrid laughed and put up both hands. "I'm not here to fight you. I come to offer you something."

"I don't have time for your type, Necrid," Adam shot back.

"My type? And what type is that?" Necrid asked. "The type that fights for what he believes in? The type that will sacrifice for a cause? Tell me. Is that not what you do on a daily basis? Are we not the same?"

"We're not the same," Adam replied. "You're willing to hurt innocents."

"And you're claiming that your zord battles don't hurt anyone?" Necrid cocked his head. "Really now. Tell the truth. How many times could you have ground out a monster early on, but hesitated to use your greatest weapons for the sake of the antiquated notion of honor? By the time you use them, the monster is already destroying the city, and when you do battle, your main function is to destroy the monster. Do you ever evacuate a city first? Tell me!"

Adam's mouth tightened. Why was he always targeted for the mind games? Did he seem weak-minded? "You intentionally hurt civilians. Any human casualties that arise as a result of our mistakes are inadvertent."

"And that makes it all better," Necrid scoffed. "Tell me, if you didn't exist, if you surrendered, what do you think would happen? For the masses, I mean; of course, people with power such as you would need to be captured and required to give up this power or suffer the consequences. But would day-to-day life change for anyone else? Of course not. Their allegiances would change, but despite the fact that they were being ruled by our empire, they would have the same lives."

Necrid waved a hand to the streets and stores, many of which had been damaged during the recent invasions. "Now look at it this way. How many people have been made homeless as a result of you tossing Bo's Hardware Store to a monster and vice versa? It's not just us that you hurt, or you that we attack; think of the people as well. We drop Bo's on them."

"We wouldn't have to do that if you didn't attack first," Adam retorted.

"Foolishness," Necrid replied. "This is the same argument that fighting children give. Who hit whom first? That is not an issue here. The issue is that the fight exists, not who started it."

Adam's face tensed, but other than this, he showed no emotion. "So what would change if I took your so-called 'offer'?"

Necrid smiled. "If you were to relinquish your Zeo crystal—it would only need to be one of you—we would bypass all this mess and hassle of fighting again and again. No one would need to be destroyed. Think of the peace that would come as a result."

Adam paused, apparently contemplating this. Necrid leaned forward, expectantly.

"It's tempting. But here's my counter offer." Adam took out his Zeo crystal. "I hold this out, say, 'You're never getting this, Necrid, not in a million years,' and tell you to shove it."

Necrid's eyes narrowed. "You would sell out humanity for your own gain, then."

"No." Adam held out a hand. "I would allow for the possibility of sacrifices being made. I would allow for the possibility of tragedy. And I would refuse to allow evil to triumph over the goodness of Earth. Rest assured, Necrid, we will not fail. My decision is final; I will not speak twice."

Roaring with rage, Necrid lunged forward, energy blades flashing. Suddenly, time seemed to slow down. Adam could see Necrid leaping for him, but he could also see the otherwise contradictory dark glow of his Zeo crystal. It felt different now, as if it were made of rock. All of this ran through Adam's mind as Necrid lunged, but now Necrid was obscured by boulders of stone blocking his vision. The omnipresent press of stone surrounded him, and everything went black.

Momentarily.

Back in the real world, Adam saw everything go back into regular speed. Holding his ground, he waited for the inevitable tackle while kicking out in a roundhouse.

And then, the unthinkable happened. Twin stone obelisks shot out of the ground, holding Necrid like a pair of chopsticks. At the same time, Adam's spin kick connected, smashing Necrid's face with unbelievable force. He slumped over and disappeared in a ball of flame.

Adam gaped slightly, then shook his head and went inside as the obelisks disappeared, failing to notice that his crystal, like the others, was no longer in his hand.

………

Ashley sighed as she entered her apartment. It'd been so long since she came in here, but it was good to be back, just like she was glad to be back on Earth. It was hard, knowing that not only was she getting back into the crazy lifestyle of a Power Ranger, she had run off without saying anything to Andros, and left only a short note, saying that she had seen a new development in what could be another danger, and she would contact him as soon as possible. Knowing that he had been through so much in searching for his sister his entire life, it seemed cruel to do this to him now. However, if the danger was as real as it seemed, then she needed to be here. Her anxiety about the whole situation could be put to rest after a nice warm bath and some rest. Hopefully after tonight's defeat, whoever or whatever was attacking them would need time to regroup, which would give her time to sleep.

Entering the bathroom, she looked in the mirror. She wasn't that tired-looking, especially since she had not been involved in any of the fighting. Initially, Tommy and T.J. had fought, and then T.J. and Talim had fought. She and Adam had mostly been spectators while guarding Beta and the Zeo crystal. Smiling, she set her crystal beside the sink and turned her attention to the shower. Setting the showerhead toward the wall, she turned the handle to her desired water temperature. Since the water heater always took forever, it would be some time until the water reached the correct heat. But she had to undress first anyway.

………

"Report."

The quantron grinned, if such a thing was possible. "We believe that the Ranger has entered her shower unit, sir. Our sources tell us that this means she will be taking a long time, during which we can easily steal the crystal. I believe she brought it in with her, but no matter. Human females are more squeamish about being seen while not wearing clothing than any other specimen of any species, and she will be unwilling to be seen in such a state for long enough for us to grab the crystal and hightail it out of there."

Necrid folded his arms. "Go then. Do not fail me."

………

Laying the last of her undergarments aside, Ashley waited. Too many things were going through her mind for her to fully unwind, though. Still slightly restless, she leaned over to the nearby shower and reached over to test the water. She could estimate that it probably still wasn't time to get in yet—

What?

Ashley's head snapped around like a hawk spotting its prey. It sounded as if someone was inside the apartment with her! In a best case scenario, she was hearing things. In a slightly okay scenario, she was being robbed.

In a more fitting-for-a-Ranger, really bad scenario, whatever had attacked before was back for more. And was just a couple yards outside the door.

_Gee, I'm a poet,_ Ashley thought sarcastically, and then frowned. _And a really big dork._

The steps were getting closer, and Ashley was past believing that she was imagining the sound. The strange thing was that even though there was clearly someone in the apartment who was making too much noise to be a burglar, and she was occupied, she managed to keep a rather disturbing level of tranquility. And this was accompanied by a healthy level of sarcasm. As she hastily slipped into her underwear, a heavy knock alerted her to the fact that her time was up.

_Absolutely _nothing_ is sacred anymore,_ she thought. _Oh well, here we go…_

Getting into the best fighting stance she could under the circumstances, Ashley readied herself as the door blasted open. Thinking quickly, she grabbed the crystal.

Two quantron warriors burst in, ready for action and stopped abruptly when they saw the situation.

"What's the matter, quantrons? Looking for this?" Ashley asked, holding out the crystal.

"Actually, yes," one of the robotic soldiers managed to stammer out in the eerie computerized ringing that Astronema had apparently mistaken for a voice.

"Well," Ashley continued calmly, managing an impressive level of sang-froid considering the situation, "you can't have it. So could I please have some privacy now?"

"Okay, get the crystal," the left quantron said to the right one.

"What? Necrid ordered you to get the crystal, and me to assist you."

"The way to assist me is to get that crystal."

"You're the one in charge here, you get it."

"Exactly, I'm in charge, which is why you—"

"Serenity now," Ashley muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Um, we have to…get that…from you," the quantron said, turning and raising his blade, but Ashley wasn't listening. She was more concerned about the sudden grainy feel of the crystal. It reminded her of when she was young and went to the beach, and built sandcastles with her friends. It felt so real, as if she were there again…

…wait, she was! Well, not entirely…the place looked more like a desert oasis, but one thing was sure, she was surrounded by sand. The sand filled her vision, blocking out everything else…

…then it was gone. Completely replaced by two-thirds of the Stooge gang, and Ashley was half-expecting them to bump into each other in trying to get in to the crystal. However, this wouldn't happen, as the ground beneath their feet had become…

"Quicksand!" the quantrons yelled in unison, struggling to get free. Quickly, the pair teleported away before they could be sucked down. As soon as the quantrons left, the quicksand disappeared.

"I am so good." Ashley looked in her empty hands, realizing what Tommy had been talking about while he was bonding. Apparently, he'd had his own domain that came with his power, and his was fire, which made sense. And she was, it seemed, queen of the sands. And what a queen. The quantrons would have a nice image to think about when she was jamming their heads into the ground. In any case, that didn't matter, but what did matter was the fact that she now had the Zeo power. Hopefully she'd be able to catch Adam and Tommy before they turned in for the night and report the news.

No luck, she realized as she hung up the phone a few minutes later. Oh well, she'd see them tomorrow, and then they'd be able to bounce ideas off of each other. For now, a certain bubble bath was calling her…

………

From her childhood days, Talim could remember nights of watching the moon when she couldn't sleep. When everyone else was fast asleep, she would tiptoe past the rooms to the main entrance, where there was a window directly across from the door. Luckily, her parents would go to sleep early enough for her to see it, and she was never bored watching its pale white glow pierce the night. Tonight was a reminder of that, and with that came the memories of the home she might not even go back to…that she was almost half a world and almost half a millennium away…

Talim sighed. Her reminiscing had brought on a whole wave of regret that she did not have time to deal with at that present juncture. Zordon's children had called her to a specific purpose, and it was this that she had to focus on, not her own childish nostalgia. Besides, what would be better to prove to her parents that she was ready to fulfill her destiny than to chase and apprehend the dark one, while purging the Dark Blade? It was all too perfect.

And yet, her heart was heavy.

Zordon had once told her that life was made of things we understand and things that were total paradoxes, and the key was to accept the paradoxes, learn from the knowledge, and use both to further the goal of protecting life. Initially, that had only been his goal, but the sage-ninja had been as passionate about the cause as to show Talim that this was why she was there. The training as a wind priestess could be seen as either an invitation to stay in the Village of the Winds for her entire life or to use her skills with the winds to aid the forces of good.

But now he was gone. How could he return? From what they had told her, he had sacrificed his life in an effort to destroy the forces attacking Earth. And she could sense that some were less ready to accept that; it seemed that Tommy and the one he called Adam were more affected by Zordon's death, as she was. She would have to ask why tomorrow, but discreetly.

"Are you still awake?" The robotic voice of Beta roused her from her reminiscence. "You need your rest, young priestess. Tomorrow will bring our enemies. Obviously they now know some of our abilities."

"I will sleep presently," Talim replied evenly. "I was having a moment of inner consciousness."

"Nostalgia is a bittersweet entity," Beta said. "Take care that you do not bog yourself down."

"You speak wisely," Talim noted. "But you are not human."

"I have been in the presence of wisdom," Beta replied. "I was Zordon's companion at one point. I was not called Beta Psi at the time, because that was an earlier version of me, but I still have him in my memory banks."

Talim smiled. "As do I."

"I will leave you to go to sleep, then," Beta said, going over the hill. "Goodnight, Talim."

At that moment, an apparition rippled in the air. Talim did not move or flinch, but simply waited for the vision to take shape. After some time, the specter was clearly a woman in a white gown and cloak, dressed like a full ranked Priestess of the Wind. But this was no ordinary priestess. No, this priestess, like Talim, had slightly darkened skin. This priestess, like Talim, had large chocolate eyes. This priestess, like Talim, had a long braid going down the center of the back of her head. This priestess, like Talim, had a small star-shaped scar on her neck, which Talim had had since she was born.

There was no denying the obvious.

"You're…" Talim squinted and tilted her head. "…me?"

"Exactly, Talim Viento," the ghostly figure said. "I am you in your future. And, on the track that you are running now, your future is exactly this: one of a spirit doomed to never return to her family."

"I am doing the right thing," Talim protested. "Zordon said—"

"Zordon is dead," Ghost-Talim interrupted. "And you will follow him to the grave, if you do not heed my words."

"Death is sometimes a price that must be paid for mankind's struggle against evil," Talim put in.

"Really?" Ghost-Talim asked. "What if your compatriots are evil? Two of them are compatriots of the one who killed Zordon."

"He sacrificed himself for everyone," Talim corrected.

"'Sacrificed' is a strange term when you consider it was on the edge of a Ranger blade," Ghost-Talim retorted. "The Red Space Ranger destroyed him."

"I'm sure that it was at Zordon's command," Talim replied.

Ghost-Talim scoffed. "That does not ameliorate the act. Careful, or your friends may side with the enemy eventually."

"I know they would not do that," Talim said, indignant now.

"You know nothing," Ghost-Talim rebuked. "You are a little girl who knows nothing. How could you know them? If you are truly this naïve, there is no hope."

"There is hope," Talim said. "Hope fuels me, and the wind guides me. Be gone, black and midnight hag, speak to me no longer."

The midnight slammed back on Talim with a jolt. Awaking from her slumber, Talim realized she had dozed off. Shaking her head to clear and straighten it, the priestess spied her crystal. It was no longer simply a stalactite, but now glowed with the brightness of a snow-white full moon.

Grasping it, Talim felt herself being lifted into the air. Clouds of dust obscured her sight, as her entire body, although she did not know it, glowed the same whitewashed chrome color as her crystal. Once the glowing died down, the wind set her back on the mountain. In the midst of the howl of the wind, however, she could hear a single word being spoken, almost inaudible, but definitely there, and familiar, though she couldn't place where she had heard it.

………

In her room, Ashley was about to go to bed. As she pulled aside the covers, she noticed her body glowing with a yellow aura. After a few seconds, it disappeared, as a word was whispered into her ears.

………

Waking suddenly, Adam wasn't sure what roused him, until he saw himself glowing with what could only be described as true black light. It then vanished, putting him into his slumber once again, his last thought being of a quiet voice.

………

Locking the door, T.J. walked down the hall. He then saw something large and glowing blue in the hall as well. His initial shock was replaced by realization that it was a mirror, and he was glowing. And, inexplicably, he could hear what sounded like a name being murmured near-silently.

………

Tommy stood by the window. The red flash hadn't really startled him as much as the word after it. The word had power, of that he was sure. He regarded his bed. He could think of it now, or could go to bed and puzzle it over in the morning.

_Exodia__…_

In the morning, he decided.


End file.
